Injury Update

The Wizards did not practice today so no real news on the status of Caron Butler, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring problem. He'll be evaluated tomorrow prior to the game at San Antonio.

Nick Young, who left last night's loss at Oklahoma City late in the game after taking an elbow to the cheek, is fine and should be good to go.

"He's unbelievable," Jamison said. "He's a guy who's finding his niche. He doesn't care about scoring. He cares about making basketball plays and winning games, whether it's rebounding or defending. The most important thing is he plays smart basketball. He has a high basketball IQ. For us, it's been a tough season with injuries, but he's one of the positives that came out of this. He's a guy who can be part of this rotation for years to come and a guy we can depend on as well."

McGuire has quietly been playing with plantar fasciitis for almost a month, but he said he would fight through it until the season ends. "I'm not trying to give up this spot right now," McGuire said with a laugh. "If I have to go out there on one foot, I'm going to try to do it as long as it's not hurting the team. It's nothing that's going to keep me from playing hard or make me sit out any games."

This is why Dom is the best young buck. What a tough son of a gun. My friends and I cheer a jamison baseline hook, but we scream and shout anytime Dom does anything that resembles a heady-basketball move. Hustle, a descent jump shot and the best backdoor passer we have PERIOD!!! GO DOM!!!!

It's great how MeTawn was able to carry the team last night against the lowly Thunder who were without both Durant and Green. That was clearly a must win and MeTawn showed his true value to the franchise.

You're askin' me about the stupidity of the ARENAS and JAMISON contracts?!!! It's too late, and what's that got to do with what this team needs? HAVING ARENAS will not equate to an NBA championship.

Positions one and five are the two most important on the floor for ANY NBA franchise.

This team needs a 265 pound 7'3" center to win consistantly in this league and right now is the time. None like the present.

THABEET, and HAYWOOD at #5, McGEE, and BLATCHE at #4, McGUIRE at #3, YOUNG at #2, ARENAS(he's ours whether we want him or not because of that contract) and CRITTENTON at #1.

BUTLER gone for a high pick to get some cap relief and DIXON cut. We get two top ten picks in this draft and a second.

EG can pick talent. McGEE last draft and McGUIRE in the second two back is proof.

YOUNG could still develop into a playa' if the coaching staff doesn't ruin him first. But he's got a 'tude and I suppose the staff thinks breaking him down to build him up is the way to go. I don't, but I'm not paid to be a coach or a GM.

Keep SONGAILA short-term. Forget PECHEROV, DIXON, JAMES, STEVENSON and THOMAS. Unfortunately, some have several years more on their contracts. Outs in those cases are salary-cap ouches.

But I see a winning team on the horizon. Two years, maybe three. Just stay the course. Try again to get TOM T. from the KNICKS as coach. And don't pull this happy horse-s*** of sending an NBA ALL_STAR team to DETROIT because of impatience.

larryinclinton: "Everybody keeps saying how the loss to OKC was so bad even without their two best players...This Wizards loss is just like most of the rest and nothing else."

Larry has a point here. Goes back to the much-discussed decision to replace Ed Jordan because, when you get down to it, the Wiz got themselves embarrassed by a Knicks team with only seven, count them, seven player, none of whom were any good.

That's when we started hearing how 'unacceptable' the team's play was. Not just that they were losing games left and right. Their level of play was 'unacceptable'.

So they fired Ed, and man, have things been better.

You lose to a lousy team like Oklahoma without two of its players, is that worse than Chicago losing to a lousy team like Washington missing two of its players? Is it worst than the Wiz playing another team close and then falling apart in the last five minutes?

They all look the same in the loss column. Blake Griffin doesn't get any closer or farther away because your team got embarrassed by a punch of nosepickers from Oklahoma City.

"It's great how MeTawn was able to carry the team last night against the lowly Thunder who were without both Durant and Green. That was clearly a must win and MeTawn showed his true value to the franchise. NOT! Posted by: DC_MAN88"

So the Celts are playing well without Garnett. Must be he's not all that valuable, huh?

Sorry i can't watch the same game this fellow watches, but I don't get the Bile Channel on my cable package.

dcman88:Your "argument" would only be relevant if Les BouleS were winning, but they aren't."

No, it's still relevant. It's just the converse of yours.

dcman88: "Les BouleS did the same last season without Gilby as they did two seasons ago with Gilby."

Sounds like you're saying the Wiz are as good without Arenas as they are with him. You know that it isn't true, unless he's playing on one foot, or blindfolded, or came back night before last after a two year absence.

"Les BouleS are the worst in the NBA with two all stars healthy for most of the season."

Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Dominic McGuire were summoned into interim coach Ed Tapscott's office for a brief meeting after the Washington Wizards lost, 88-83, to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

I'm guessing the meeting was to give them 'attaboys' for keeping us in contention for the top pick.
The tankfest has been on for a while now.There's no other way to describe the coaching style of Tapscott. He couldn't possibly be this bad, could he? I mean, this is Leonard Hamilton bad.

Tom Thibodeau solves a chunk of our problems. We have the physical skills (length, quickness)to excel defensively. Why is there no discussion about a new coach? I read Ivan's statement that there was no news but surely someone in the front office is thinking about this.

We should have Abe in our chartered jet parked outside of Thibodeau's house waiting for him every time he leaves a la Dan Snyder.

I keep hearing that what the Wizards need is a power forward in this draft. The reasoning behind building a championship team around a power forward really only holds water if you beleive that 7' Tim Duncan and 6'11"(I'm not 7') Kevin Garnett are really forwards. I'm inclined to thing that they are really centers.

But even if you except the fact that they are playing power forward, is Griffin at about 6'8" and 30-50lbs lighter going to matchup agianst the league's elite power forwards? And is his offensive game, which seems to be built largely around overpowering opponenents, going to be successful against the likes of Duncan and Garnett?

The Wizards number one problem is playing undersized at every frontline position this year. Tapps has tried to solve the part of the problem by inserting McGuire into the lineup and moving Butler to the backcourt. But McGuire's rebounding isn't making up for having a pair of 6'8" guys that are the last line of defense at the rim.

Haywood's return will help the problem, but Haywood has never been a 40 min. a night guy. Center depth and size is the number one issue on this team. Haywood's Free agency also looms, the team currently only has McGee behind him. And McGee is really a 4/5 like a young Camby, not a downlow banger.

At the top of the Draft Thabeet or Jordan Hill are two guys that are big enough to mature into the kind of guy that you need at the 4 or the 5 to compete against the best in the league.

I'd like to see Griffin matched against the other top 4's in college hoops in the tourney before I'm ready to declare him the answer to the Wizards' prayers.

This team needs defensive improvement, and to get that it needs better defensive players. Building Championship level defense is a process, one that this franchise has been loathe tackle since the Unseld/Hayes days.

This draft is the opportunity to address that need and begin to put some defensive stoppers in place. With a defensive core in place along with a tough minded defensive coach, the turn around here could be sooner then most expect.
GM

But even if you except the fact that they are playing power forward, is Griffin at about 6'8" and 30-50lbs lighter going to matchup agianst the league's elite power forwards? And is his offensive game, which seems to be built largely around overpowering opponenents, going to be successful against the likes of Duncan and Garnett?

For a 6'10" guy he sure doesn't look any taller then a lot of the guys that are lasted at 6'8" that he plays against.

His 6'10" looks close to Beasley's 6'9" from last year. Now that Beasley's in the league most observers are saying he's closer to 6'7".

Griffin is a very good player, I still think he's the #1 pick. He just doesn't appear as big as he's being billed and that's becoming a discussion item by some draft observers.

There are many successful undersized power forwards. We've got one of them, but when people are talking about the need for a dominant BIG power forward. I'm just not sure yet if that's what Griffin really is.

Hill appears to be a bigger framed longer armed guy then Griffin. From the games I've watched, I like what I see in Hill and how his game will translate to the Pros.

I would really like to see Griffin and Hansbrough go head to head in the tourney, then it would be clearer if there is as big of difference as some people are seeing at this point.

I have the feeling the two guys are closer together in their game than some think.
GM